


Kau (helpless)

by kyber-erso (aoraki)



Series: Keep me Warm [4]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:27:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27387943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aoraki/pseuds/kyber-erso
Summary: Alone in a sinking ship, Obi-Wan struggles to keep himself and his master above the water.
Relationships: Qui-Gon Jinn & Obi-Wan Kenobi
Series: Keep me Warm [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1996870
Comments: 12
Kudos: 44





	Kau (helpless)

Obi-Wan's breath crystallized in the air. It coalesced prettily like the breath of a Arkanian dragon, floating out towards the mangroves bending in through the shattered cockpit window. Beyond the foliage lay a swath of glittering starlight. The distant suns seemed to wink at him, blinking in and out of existence effortlessly, as if to say _look how easy it is, little one. Now you try it._

His master had stopped shivering. The weight of him, solid and heavy against his front pressed the teen into the bulkhead of the upturned cockpit. The silence was more suffocating. 

The padawan held the older man tight, unwilling to let him sink further into the dark, glacial water collecting at their hips. The effort was draining. If he could feel his legs, he knew they would be shaking from exertion. 

Weariness ceased his attempts to rouse the older man, choosing instead to bury his face into the cool tangle of hair splayed across his master's back. He winced as the movement pulled the blood dried skin of his neck.

 _We are luminous beings. We are more than our bodies._ The words floated up from a distant, glowing place of childhood. The phantom warmth of Coruscant prime melted away his discomfort. 

The force felt evasive, slipping between his fingers like fine silk, desirable but ultimately unobtainable. She would be no help to him now. 

He couldn't recall what had happened. At least not with any sufficient clarity. Jagged flares of deafening klaxons, his masters eyes bright with adrenaline, blackening glass - these were useless to him. Dwelling on the images too long caused a swell of nausea to rise in his throat, reminiscent terror, which he battled to quell lest he vomit over his poor master.

Had his master been awake following the crash? He had no memory of such a possibility. In fact, he could hardly remember dragging the man with him against the relative comfort of the bulkhead. Obviously he had been of some sound mind, as evidenced by the flickering of the activated distress beacon. This had been before the water had begun to collect with seriousness, as the device was submerged across the cockpit, several meters and lightyears away. Obi-Wan prayed to the force that it was waterproof. 

The concept of time evaded him. He couldn't trust himself to blink too long - terrified of the strength of his body's compulsion for rest, knowing if he wavered in his resistance that his arms would fail him, that in turn he would fail his master.

If he were a better Jedi, able to fully mold his wandering thoughts into a formidable whole, he might have been able to calculate how much longer until the water would totally submerge them. He wondered if they would freeze before the water reached their necks. He realised, with a shuddering certainty, the distinction was a pointless exercise.

Obi-Wan swallowed down an unexpected sob. "Master," he whispered, failing to gather enough energy to project his shaky voice with greater volume. The larger man slipped slightly from his grip.

"Master, I'm not strong enough to get us out of the water..." 

**Author's Note:**

> Again - for nano, not beta'd. Kia kaha whanau, the world looks a little dark today but the light can come from the most unexpected of places... from within yourself. Let me know if I should continue this!


End file.
